Qua (Classic Journeys Era)
Qua Overview Descendants of Native American colonists who settled on Quaquan. A deeply spiritual people with close ties to the land and nature in general. They believe in the wisdom of their elders. Although generally suspicious of outsiders, they are not xenophobic. In fact, they gave sanctuary to the hunted Mystics, ensuring that those homeless purveyors of prophecy would not be eradicated. The people of Quaquan originally lived in cliffside cities, similar to the Mesa Verde on old Earth, but have since expanded to other locations throughout the planet. Adobe buildings are quite common, though each is significantly more modern than what one would have found among the pre-colonial Native American societies. A Brief Overview of Qua History Quaquan's colonization began in 2117 AD, when 2000 Native Americans, predominantly Navajo with a few other tribes mixed in, purchased a starship to carry them in search of a new world to live on that they could claim as their own. The ship carried them through space for generations, finally landing them on Quaquan 67 years after they launched - the year 2184 AD. For the first few decades, the Qua remained relatively insular, building up their first cities. However, by 33 years after their arrival, the Qua were launching exploration ships. Through this, they first encountered the Youngsterians, ancestors of the modern Ungstiri, in 2217 AD, and established a continuing trade with them. Thirteen years later, the Qua exploration vessel Havester made first contact with the Mystics on Val Shohob. This contact would affect them later in their history, when they would offer shelter to the mystics after Val Shohob was destroyed by the Kretonian fleet. In recent history, the planet of Quaquan became embroiled in the Birthright War, when the Nall Parallax attempted to obtain universal domination. The war itself began in February of the year 3005, and saw the occupation of Quaquan, which was ended with the war's end in June of that same year. The Qua Belief System The Qua religion itself has no official name - it's just what the Qua people believe in. It developed over the years by the merging and mingling of several Native American groups, with the Navajo beliefs being especially prominent in some areas. There are regional variations through the planet, but what is described here are the basic beliefs of the Qua people. Gods The dominant religion on Quaquan is polytheistic – in theory, there are an infinite number of actual gods. This is because it is Qua belief that every planet (or in some cases, planetoids) capable of or which can be made capable of supporting life is a god. Specifically, these are gods in the masculine form – there is only one goddess in Qua religion, the goddess of the sky Atahensic. In truth, Atahensic is probably better described as the goddess of space, because what most people consider the sky, the atmosphere, is actually described as part of the planet gods. All things originally came from Atahensic, but she cannot truly be seen, and she can support no life. Thus, while she is considered a very important deity, she is not actually the recipient of any great amount of worship. Of all the nearly infinite number of gods they believe in, Qua worship is centered on only two. The first of these gods is Quaquan itself, also referred to as “the good uncle” or just “uncle.” The reason for this is that despite the fact that Quaquan is their home, the Qua people originated, as with all humanoids, on Earth. The good uncle is an adoptive father to them. The other god which receives a slightly different form of worship is Dinetah, the lost father, the word adopted by the Qua people for old Earth. Worship of Dinetah is not quite as frequent as that of Quaquan, and tends to be, strangely, more apologetic for the crime of leaving the planet behind. Over time, this has actually warped the meaning of the god in the eyes of the Qua people, and Dinetah has become something of a psychopomp, called upon at Qua funerals to lead the departed soul into the afterlife. All other worlds receive some worship, but not to the same extent as Quaquan and Dinetah. Generally, Qua only worship other gods when on their planet. Spirits Below the gods are a wide array of spirits, in animal form and others. Most of these spirits are servants to one of the gods, and each god tends to have its own unique array, though some spirits are shared between worlds. The most powerful of these spirits are the stars, with the most important among these being the suns. A sun is the servant to a planet-god, existing for the purpose of giving light and warmth to the world it serves. They are always older than their gods, but always bow down to them. The planet, which directly supports life, is viewed as more important in the cosmos than the sun, which has great raw power. Star spirits never serve as guides for humanity. The second class of spirits are the spirits of the environment. These include sky spirits (wind, storms, clouds), earth spirits (stone, mountains, trees), water spirits (oceans, rivers, lakes) and fire spirits. These spirits are the beings responsible for keeping the natural systems of a world running. Generally, they are not considered to be contactable by humans, but some of the more powerful priests are supposed to be able to commune with these spirits. The final class of spirits is the animal spirits. There is generally one of these for each animal that lives on a planet, each with its own distinct personality. The animal spirits serve humans as their spirit guides, supposedly guiding them in a way that fits the spirit’s personality. Spirit guides are taken on during adolescence. A very, very few reactionary families have their children go on an actual spirit quest, giving them an infusion of an hallucinogenic tea, which causes the young Qua to have visions which show them their spirit guides. However, most Qua, who have some understanding of the thousand years of modern medicine they’ve been living with, instead have a mock spirit quest, with the son or daughter selecting their guide based on attributes they would like to have. Religious Practice Qua religious belief is practiced wherever they go, but most of the specific practices happen only on Quaquan itself. The reasoning behind this is that while all planets are gods, and spirits live everywhere, the Qua people belong first to Quaquan, and worship of Quaquan can only be done on the planet itself, as with all gods excepting Atahensic and Dinetah. Worship of Atahensic can be performed anywhere, but is generally reserved for when traveling through space itself. She is invoked to keep the passengers of a ship safe. Worship of Dinetah is performed wherever a Qua travels – as the true father of humanity, the psychopomp is believed to always be aware of his children Traditionally, a Qua is supposed to take some time each day to meditate on Dinetah. If the Qua has a Terran animal for a spirit guide, he might hold a bauble representing it to help connect to Dinetah. One meditates on the loss of Dinetah, the history of the Qua people, and how the lessons of the past, both personal and racial, might be used to better the new life the Qua people have. Ceremonies involving Dinetah include funerals, in which a Qua priest asks the god to guide the deceased into the afterlife. Grayleaf, a plant native to Quaquan, is burned as a pungent, somewhat sweet incense to Dinetah by the priest, and mourners attend wearing white. When waking up, and before every meal, a Qua is supposed to give thanks to Quaquan, for hosting the Qua people and for providing for them. In addition to this, the Qua can visit a temple at any time, for worship in a more holy place or to seek guidance from one of the priests. Quaquan is invoked at Qua weddings and at the start of spring, once a year, has a festival. The Fire Festival is a celebration of life on the planet, and a time for praise of Quaquan and his spirits. Priests from the local temple lead, and throughout the planet, gatherings of various sizes build up at night around massive bonfires. Those who attend come wearing robes in imitation of those worn by their ancestors on Earth, but never quite like them. In truth, they tend to be quite a bit gaudier, more modern in style, and most of them are homemade with decorations representing the wearer’s spirit animal. Competitions of dancing skill, costumes and other bits are common here, as well as a /lot/ of singing and dancing. On other planets, prayers to the local god is optional. While some Qua do replace the prayers to Quaquan with the prayers to Vollista, Sivad or Mars, most tend not to. Spirits are never actually worshipped by the Qua, though they are respected, and might be thanked or petitioned. It is not uncommon for a Qua to ask for their spirit’s guidance before going to do something that might be risky. Religion and Daily Life There are several rules that the Qua people live by. Live not in waste. The Qua people are advised to take only what they need, and to use what they take. This spreads to things such as the size of their meals, using sustainable agricultural methods, and controlled hunting. This rule also extends to the exploitation of natural resources, production of power and just general life. Green tech is a high priority on Quaquan, and rather advanced due to this interest. Protect and promote life where possible. The Qua are expected to reach out to help those in need, and to protect the balance of life on a planet. Divinity comes from the support and creation of life, and so when the Qua protect life, and help those in need, they serve the gods directly. Despite this, however, the Qua do still eat meat, and they hold a militia. It is not, however, believed that either of these are in contradiction to the directive of protecting life, in the big picture. Predator and prey are both made that way, and animals eating other animals is part of how things are, in their opinion, and part of the natural balance. Militia are sometimes necessary to protect life as well, when a hostile force wishes to bring harm. The Qua people are also encouraged to live moderate lifestyles. Tobacco, alcohol and all sorts of recreational drugs are frowned upon, and Qua religion supposedly forbids them due to the harmful effect they have on the body and what they did to past civilization. However, so far as the first two are concerned, they are not illegal on Quaquan, and a number of Qua cheat this rule a little bit. Modern medicinal drugs are commonly used on Quaquan, when appropriate. Familial duty also is strongly emphasized among the Qua people. Just as they are meant to care for their planet, which supports them, Qua children are supposed to look after the parents that raised them in their old age. The brunt of this responsibility traditionally falls on the oldest child. As an extension to this, there is often a community childrearing aspect to Qua life - all the adults in a community will share responsibility for the children, to make it easier on the parents and all involved. Toward other religions, the Qua attitude might best be described as respectful disagreement. They tolerate other religions, and will allow offworlders places to worship near the spaceport, but do not mingle in such places themselves. They may learn the basics, but are encouraged not to delve too far into these things. A (partially outdated) site about the Qua. category:Encyclopedia Intergalactica category:Stubs category:OtherSpace Races (Classic Journeys Era)